Riding saddle and its method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A riding saddle provided with a semirigid tree ( 1 ) is remarkable in that it includes a semirigid trapezium ( 2 ) facing the back ( 50 ) of the horse and on which the saddle is placed, which trapezium cooperates with the tree ( 1 ).

The present invention relates to a riding saddle and to its method ofmanufacture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In traditional manner, a saddle comprises two panels extended by sweatflaps, the sweat flaps having the function of protecting the horse'sflanks, in particular to avoid them coming into contact with girthbuckles.

The panels constitute pads that come into contact with the horse's back.By way of example, these panels serve to soften contact so as to avoidpressure points that can generate pain and fatigue for the horse.

The panels are connected to each other by a flexible piece of leatherreferred to as a “trapezium”. This trapezium constitutes a piece thatfaces the horse's back but that does not touch it since it is spacedapart therefrom by the panels of the saddle.

Thereafter, on top of the trapezium, there is the strength member of thesaddle, referred to as the “tree”. The tree is a rigid part made up oftwo curved portions known as the pommel and as the cantle that arelocated respectively in anterior and posterior zones of the saddle. Bymeans of its rigidity, the tree serves to clear the horse's withers andalso to maintain the shape of the saddle.

In addition, the tree is generally hollow in its center. Straps are thenstretched across the tree so as to form a seat, the straps serving tosupport the padding and the traditional leather covering on which therider sits.

In addition, the tree is also fitted with girth straps serving to securea girth of the saddle that goes round the horse's body so as to hold thesaddle on the horse.

Similarly, the tree has flaps on its outside, that cover the sweat flapsand the girth straps. They are not only attractive in appearance, butthey also provide the rider's legs with contact with the saddle and thehorse. To improve this contact, the flaps are provided with ridges thatguide the legs.

Finally, the tree is also provided with stirrup bars that enable thestirrups that receive the rider's feet to be fastened to the saddle.

Such saddles are entirely conventional and satisfy requirements.Nevertheless, their method of fabrication is sometimes difficult andlengthy, which can lead to cost that is not negligible.

Furthermore, it can be seen that a riding saddle has only one rigidelement, i.e. the leather-covered tree. Given the movements of thehorse, that architecture necessarily leads to rough contacts and tosignificant impacts between the saddle and the rider, which can beuncomfortable or can even give rise to injury.

For example, when trotting, the rider rises slightly from the saddle andthen drops back onto the saddle, in such a manner as to off-load theback of the horse on every other stride given that the rider is notsitting on the saddle on every other stride.

Nevertheless, dropping back into the saddle gives rise to a repeatedimpact that can be disagreeable for the rider and also for the horse.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to propose a riding saddle thatmakes it possible to obviate the above-mentioned limitations, and moreparticularly to avoid giving rise to impacts.

According to the invention, a riding saddle provided with a tree that issemi-rigid is remarkable in that it also has a trapezium that issemi-rigid, facing the back of the horse on which the saddle is placed,and co-operating with the tree.

Since the trapezium is semi-rigid, it is not constituted merely by apiece of leather. For example, it is made using a composite materialprovided with glass and carbon fibers, polyurethane foam, and resins.The same preferably applies to the semi-rigid tree.

The use of such a material combines several advantages, such asstiffness, strength, suitability for being adjusted, and it is alsolight in weight, which is not negligible for the purpose of sparing thehorse's back. Furthermore, the material can deform to a reasonableextent without breaking, which is advantageous under presentcircumstances.

In addition, since the trapezium is semi-rigid, it can co-operate withthe tree so as to enable shocks to be damped.

Advantageously, the tree is movable relative to the trapezium. As aresult the tree and trapezium assembly also constitutes means fordamping impacts, unlike in the prior art where that assembly isconstituted a single strength member fitted with a flexible piece ofleather. It will be understood that the movement of the tree relative tothe trapezium is suitable for damping the impacts encountered when thehorse is trotting, for example, the tree and trapezium assemblydissipating the vertical force by giving rise to a horizontaldisplacement.

In a first variant of the invention, the semi-rigid tree and thesemi-rigid trapezium of the saddle are substantially identical in shape,the tree matching the shape of the trapezium when a rider is sitting onthe saddle.

In a second variant of the invention, in order to enable the tree tomove in a horizontal direction relative to the trapezium, the posteriorportions of the tree and of the trapezium are secured to each other byengagement means. The posterior portion of the tree, i.e. its rearportion pointing towards the horse's tail, is thus fastened to theposterior portion of the trapezium via the engagement means, whichsecure the tree to the trapezium in their posterior portions.

In contrast, the anterior portion of the tree is movable relative to theanterior portion of the trapezium in a horizontal direction, i.e. adirection extending substantially along the axis of the horse's spine.

Thus, the posterior portion of the tree is secured to the posteriorportion of the trapezium, while the anterior portion thereof is suitablefor moving relative to the trapezium in a horizontal direction.

Advantageously, the anterior portion of the tree is suitable forperforming a horizontal displacement over a maximum length of 2.5centimeters (cm) in such a manner as to obtain significant damping.

Consequently, the anterior portions of the tree and of the trapezium areinterconnected by a link that puts a limit on the stroke available.

By way of example, the link constitutes slider means comprising a pinhaving a first end that is secured to the tree and a second end thatpasses through an orifice formed in the trapezium. The first end is aninsert arranged in the tree, while the pin is a screw passing throughthe orifice and screwed into the insert. The head of the screw thenconstitutes a stop acting as an abutment for limiting verticaldisplacement of the tree.

In addition, the orifice in the trapezium is preferably an oblong holethat enables said link to be displaced, the oblong hole having a maximumlength of 2.5 cm.

Consequently, when the rider sits on the saddle, that imparts a verticalforce on the tree and on the trapezium. They both tend to deform, withtheir posterior and anterior portions moving towards each other,substantially describing an arc of a circle. During this movement, thelink is displaced horizontally in the oblong hole that thus constitutesa slideway. The relative movement between the anterior portion of thetree relative to the anterior portion of the trapezium that resultstherefrom enables the energy generated by said vertical force to bedissipated, so that the semi-rigid tree and trapezium assembly thenconstitutes means for damping impacts.

Finally, the trapezium is optionally provided with two panels includingreinforcement of composite material firstly for making the panels easierto assemble, and secondly for ensuring that pressure points do notappear on the horse's back.

The present invention also provides a method of fabricating a ridingsaddle comprising a semi-rigid tree provided with flaps and a semi-rigidtrapezium provided with panels. The method is remarkable in that thefollowing steps are performed in succession:

a) a seat is fabricated from the semi-rigid tree, by placing theelements of the seat on said tree, namely the girth straps, the flaps,and the sweat flaps;

b) a frame is fabricated by fixing the panels of the saddle to thetrapezium, the trapezium being semi-rigid; and

c) the saddle is completed by fastening the seat on the frame.

In order to save time, it is possible for steps a) and b) to beimplemented simultaneously.

In a variant of the method, panels are used that include rigidreinforcement made of composite materials, for example, and providedwith inserts. A screw being conventionally provided with a head and ashank, during step b), each panel is fastened to the trapezium via atleast one screw, the shank of the screw passing through the trapezium tobe screwed into the panel, and the head of the screw being arrangedagainst the top face of the trapezium which facing the tree of thesaddle.

Assembly is thus very easy to perform. It is also easy to change thepanels.

Advantageously, during a preliminary stage of step c), for at least onepanel being provided with a pocket on its outside face, i.e. a face ofthe panel that is not directed towards the flank of the horse, and forthe tree including at least one point, i.e. a fastener tab, said pointis inserted in the pocket.

The pocket thus enables the seat to be properly positioned relative tothe frame before they are fastened together definitively.

In addition, during a final stage of step c), optionally following thepreliminary stage, the posterior portion of the semi-rigid trapezium isfastened to the posterior portion of the tree via engagement means,constituted by a screw having its shank screwed into an insert presentin the tree.

Similarly, during this final stage of step c), the anterior portion ofthe semi-rigid trapezium is connected to the anterior portion of thetree via a link such as a pin of the tree passing through an orifice ofthe trapezium in the form of an oblong hole, the first end of the pinbeing secured to the tree, while its second end projects from thetrapezium and is terminated by a stop.

It should be observed that the various variants of the invention asdescribed above are compatible with one another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention and its advantages appear in greater detail in the contextof the following description which relates to preferred embodimentsgiven without any limiting character and with reference to theaccompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a tree;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view from beneath of a trapezium of theinvention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a diagrammatic section of a tree arranged on atrapezium in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic hind view of a saddle for illustrating themethod of the invention.

Elements present in more than one figure are given the same referencesin each of them.

MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a tree 1. The tree 1 is semi-rigidpresenting a posterior portion 11, i.e. at the rear of the saddle, andthus remote from the horse's withers.

Furthermore, the tree is provided with an anterior portion 12, i.e.beside the horse's withers. It should also be observed that the treepossesses a rounded end 14 for allowing the horse's withers to movevertically.

Furthermore, there can be seen an opening 13 in the tree, the center ofthe tree being hollow. The opening 13 is then filled with straps onwhich the padding and covering of the saddle will rest.

It is explained below that other elements such as the flaps and thegirth straps are also secured to the tree 1 so as to constitute a firstassembly referred to for convenience, as a “seat”.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view from beneath of a trapezium 2 of theinvention. It can be seen that this trapezium is a semi-rigid plate andnot just a piece of leather.

The trapezium 2 comprises a posterior portion 21 situated at the rear ofthe saddle and thus remote from the horse's withers. In addition, thetrapezium 2 is provided with an anterior portion 22 beside the horse'swithers.

Furthermore, the trapezium possesses a bottom face 25 facing the horse'sback and a top 26 facing the tree 1.

Furthermore, in order to secure the tree 1 to the trapezium 2, thetrapezium is provided with an orifice in the form of an oblong hose 24in its anterior portion and with a round hole 23 in its posteriorportion.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic section of a tree 1 arranged on a trapezium 2,the said tree 1 co-operating with the trapezium 2.

The posterior portion 11 of the tree 1 is secured to the posteriorportion 21 of the trapezium 2 via engagement means 31, e.g. a screw thatpasses through the round hole 23 of the trapezium 2 to be screwed intoan insert present in the tree 1. The top face 26 of the trapezium 2 thenfaces towards said tree 1. The engagement means 31 serve to secure thetree 1 to the trapezium 2 at their posterior portions 11, 21.

Similarly, the anterior portion 12 of the tree 1 is fastened to theanterior portion 22 of the trapezium 2 via a link 32.

By way of example, the link 32 is a pin having its first end 33constituted by an insert secured to the tree 1. Its second end 34 isthen a screw whose shank 35 projects from the trapezium 2, the screwhead 36 facing the bottom face 25 of the trapezium 2.

The tree 1 then co-operates with the trapezium 2, and vice versa.

At rest, and with reference to FIG. 3, the tree 1 is spaced apart fromthe trapezium 2 in natural manner, given the way the posterior portionsof the tree 1 and the trapezium 2 are fastened together via theengagement means.

In contrast, with reference to FIG. 4, when a rider sits on the saddle,the tree 1 is free to move at least in part relative to the trapezium 2,so the tree 1 is displaced and comes substantially to fit the shape ofthe trapezium 2. More precisely, the weight of the rider deforms thetree 1 and the trapezium 2 elastically. Their posterior and anteriorportions are then displaced respectively along arrows F1 and F2.Furthermore, the tree 1 is movable relative to the trapezium 2, with thelink 32 being displaced horizontally in the oblong hole 24.

The combination of these movements thus imparts a non-negligible dampingpower to the assembly comprising the tree 1 and the trapezium 2.

Furthermore, a particularly useful and unexpected result is observed.The horizontal movement of the anterior portion of the tree causespressure points on the horse's back to be distributed uniformly, thusgreatly relieving the horse.

The oblong shape of the oblong hole 24 in the trapezium 2 serves toavoid the shank 35 of the screw 34 coming into contact with the sides ofthe hole. The oblong hole thus serves both as a guide and also as astroke limiter. In FIG. 4, it can be seen that the displacement of thetree is limited in the end by the pair comprising the oblong hole 24 andthe link 32, with the link 32 coming into abutment against the oblonghole at the end of its travel.

It should be observed that using composite materials for fabricating thetree is particularly effective, insofar as such composite materials makeit possible to obtain a tree that is semi-rigid, sufficiently rigid toconstitute the reinforcement of the saddle, but also sufficientlyflexible to be deformed without that breaking the tree. Advantageously,the same applies to the trapezium 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic hind view of a saddle placed on the back 50 ofa horse, for the purpose of illustrating the method of the invention.The cantle of the saddle can be seen particularly clearly.

During a step a) of the method, the seat of the saddle is fabricatedfrom a semi-rigid tree that is not visible in FIG. 5.

The hollow portion 13 of the tree 1 is initially filled with straps andthen the tree 1 is covered in padding and a covering 41, e.g. made ofleather.

Furthermore, using means that are not shown in the figures, two flaps 45are installed on the sides of the tree to enable riders to grip thesaddle. Similarly, it can be seen that the anterior portion of the treeis provided with two fixing tabs known as “points” 47.

Finally, girth straps (not shown) are fastened to the tree for thepurpose of attaching the girth for holding the saddle on the horse, withthe girth then going round the body of the horse.

In addition, the tree is also fitted with stirrup bars (not shown) forsecuring the stirrup leathers to the saddle.

At the end of this step a), all of the component elements of the seathave thus been assembled.

During step b), optionally performed simultaneously with step a), theframe of the seat is fabricated.

The frame is provided with a semi-rigid trapezium 2 with each of itssides including a respective panel 42.

These panels 42 are stuffed with padding and they are arranged on theback 50 of the horse.

In addition, the panels 42 are reinforced with rigid reinforcement ofcomposite materials, with threaded inserts (not shown) being arranged inthe reinforcements. Thus, each panel is fastened to the trapezium 2 viaat least one screw passing through the trapezium and being received inan insert in the panel.

It should be observed that the head of each of these screws is disposedon the top face 26 of the trapezium, i.e. the face of the trapezium thatfaces the tree and not the back of the horse. This feature is importantsince it makes it possible to eliminate pressure points on the back 50of the horse, thereby improving the horse's comfort.

Furthermore, a sweat flap 44 is fastened on each panel 42. Similarly,each panel 42 includes a pocket 46, on an outside face 44′, i.e. a faceof the panel that does not face towards a flank of the horse.

Step b) is then complete.

Consequently, during a step c), following steps a) and b), the saddle iscompleted by fastening the seat to the frame.

During a preliminary stage of step c, the fixing tabs 47 of the seat areinserted into the pockets 46 of the sweat flap 44. This serves inparticular to position the seat properly relative to the frame.

Thereafter, during a final stage of step c), the posterior portion ofthe tree is fastened to the posterior portion of the trapezium 2 usingthe engagement means 31. The engagement means 31 are constituted by ascrew, for example, passing through the round hole 23 in the trapezium2, and screwed into an insert that is secured to the tree.

In addition, the anterior portion 12 of the tree 1 is connected to theanterior portion 22 of the trapezium 2 via a link 32. More precisely,the link 32 is constituted for example by an insert 33 secured to thetree 1 and by a screw 34. The screw then passes through an oblong hole24 in the trapezium 2 so as to be screwed into the insert 33 of the tree1, with a portion of the screw, including its head 36, thus projectingfrom the trapezium 2 out from the saddle.

Naturally, the present invention can be subjected to numerous variantsas to its implementation. Although several variants are described above,it will readily be understood that it is not conceivable to identifyexhaustively all possible variants. It is naturally possible to envisagereplacing any of the means described by equivalent means without goingbeyond the ambit of the present invention.

1. A riding saddle provided with a semi-rigid tree (1) and a semirigidtrapezium (2) co-operating with said tree (1), said trapezium (2) facingthe back (50) of a horse on which said saddle is placed, whereinanterior portions (12, 22) of said tree and trapezium (1 and 2) areinterconnected by a link (32) having an axis with a first end secured tothe tree and a second end that passes through an orifice (24) in saidtrapezium (2), said orifice (24) being an oblong hole.
 2. A saddleaccording to claim 1, wherein said semirigid tree and trapezium (1 and2) are identical in profile, said tree (1) matching the shape of saidtrapezium (2) whenever a rider sits on said saddle.
 3. A saddleaccording to claim 1, wherein said tree (1) is movable relative to saidtrapezium (2), said tree (1) serving as means for damping impacts.
 4. Asaddle according to claim 1, wherein the posterior portions (11, 21) ofsaid tree and trapezium (1 and 2) are fastened together by engagementmeans (31).
 5. A saddle according to claim 1, wherein the anteriorportion (12) of said tree (1) is movable relative to the anteriorportion (22) of said trapezium (2).
 6. A saddle according to claim 5,wherein said anterior portion (12) of said tree (1) is suitable forperforming horizontal displacement relative to said trapezium (2) over amaximum length of 2.5 cm.
 7. A saddle according to claim 1, wherein theoblong hole has a maximum length of 2.5 cm.
 8. A saddle according toclaim 1, wherein said trapezium (2) is provided with two panels (42),said panels (42) including reinforcement made of composite material. 9.A method of fabricating a riding saddle comprising a semirigid tree (1)provided with flaps (45) and a trapezium (2) provided with panels (42);wherein the following steps are performed: a) a seat is fabricated fromsaid tree (1) by placing seat elements on said tree (1); b) a frame isfabricated by fastening said panels (42) to said trapezium (2), saidtrapezium (2) being semirigid; and c) said saddle is completed byfastening said seat on said frame, by connecting during a final stage ofstep c), an anterior portion (22) of said trapezium (2) to an anteriorportion (12) of the tree (1) via a pin of the tree (1) passing throughan oblong hole in the trapezium (2), a first end of said pin beingsecured to said tree (1) while a second end of said pin projects fromsaid trapezium (2) and is terminated by a stop.
 10. A method accordingto claim 9, wherein steps a) and b) are implemented simultaneously. 11.A method according to claim 9, wherein at least one screw is providedwith a head and a shank being used during step b) to fasten each panel(42) to said trapezium (2), the shank of said at least one screw passingthrough said trapezium (2) to fasten the screw to said panel (42), thehead of the screw being arranged on a top face (26) of the trapezium (2)facing the tree (1) of the saddle.
 12. A method according to claim 9,wherein during a preliminary stage of step c), at least one panel (42)is provided with a pocket (46) on an outside face (44′) and the tree (1)having at least one point (47), said at least one point (47) is insertedinto said pocket (46).
 13. A method according to claim 9, wherein duringa final stage of step c), the posterior portion (21) of said trapezium(2) is fastened to the posterior portion (11) of the tree (1) via ascrew whose shank is screwed into an insert present in said tree (1).